HNU Mas­ter's gradu­ates present at EURO 2021 in­ter­na­tional con­fer­ence

EURO 2021 (opens in a new window), the largest European conference for Operational Research and Management Science, took place from July 11-13 in a hybrid format - partly on-site in Athens, partly via video conference. Prof. Dr. Ulrike Reisach chaired the session "Digital Ethics & Governance" in the Operational Research and Ethics stream, to which Sarah Haggenmüller and Javier Lede, two HNU Master's graduates, made scientific contributions. They had prevailed in the application to be speakers at this year's EURO.

AI for skin cancer diagnostics 

Sarah Haggenmüller, a graduate of HNU's Master of Advanced Management (MAM) program, presented her research results in the field of AI-based skin cancer diagnostics in the lecture "Mobile Artificial Intelligence Applications for Skin Cancer Diagnostics: Preferences and Concerns of Digital Natives". Focusing on the digital native, Haggenmüller had researched the extent to which potential skin cancer screening participants under the age of 35 are willing to use AI-based mobile applications for skin cancer diagnostics, and derived recommendations for action both for future research projects and for successful translation into clinical practice.  

Haggenmüller is currently a research associate in the Digital Biomarkers for Oncology junior research group at the German Cancer Research Center. During her studies, Haggenmüller was already a scholarship holder of the German National Academic Foundation and is now pursuing her PhD at the Mannheim Medical Faculty of Heidelberg University with a doctoral scholarship from the German National Academic Foundation. Her findings, presented at EURO 2021, will soon appear in JMIR MHealth UHealth, a leading journal in the field of medical informatics and health services research.

Isolation and digital media use

Javier Lede, a graduate of HNU's Master of International Corporate Communication and Media Management (ICCMM) program, spoke in his presentation "Fracturing Common Sense: Profiling, Targeted Content and Self-isolation" about the social consequences of the business model of digital platforms when populations have to take isolation measures to maintain their health. He applied grounded theory methodology to examine digital media use during health isolation due to COVID19. Through in-depth interviews with 25 Buenos Aires citizen:s, some of whom were also asked about their digital media use multiple times during the seven-and-a-half-month lockdown, he demonstrated how algorithmic filters can reinforce social division through conflicting narratives.

Lede is currently a research associate at HNU, where he serves as project coordinator for "Internationalization 2.0." He was awarded the DAAD Prize in 2020 for special academic achievements and his social commitment.

Digital Learning since COVID19: Opportunities and Challenges

Prof. Dr. Ulrike Reisach (Faculty of Information Management) is HNU's Internationalization Officer and a Trusted Lecturer of the German National Academic Foundation for the Ulm and Neu-Ulm region. In her role as session chair and board member of the Working Group Operational Research and Ethics, she moderated the contributions and contributed a presentation at EURO Athens 2021. Titled "Digital teaching and learning - opportunities & threats and their ethical aspects," Reisach explained the opportunities and challenges digital learning has faced in different countries since the outbreak of COVID19. She summarized the issues and initial findings of an ongoing research project with surveys and interviews for teachers in different countries and subjects in a SWOT analysis (inventory of the status quo including possible developments). The analysis showed that digital teaching in different contexts is not the same and highly different goals, practices and perceptions exist regarding learning outcomes: While privacy, fairness, and freedom of scholarship matter to some, others experience an ever-increasing digital and social divide. The causes and influencing factors will feed into publications on collaboration among international universities.

Contact person at HNU

Prof. Dr. Ulrike Reisach